Planned Parenthood scores $375k Obamacare grant

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Washington, D.C.’s health insurance exchange has awarded a $375,000 grant to abortion provider Planned Parenthood to help enroll participants in Obamacare, the exchange announced on Tuesday.

As part of its effort to boost enrollment in the exchange created by President Obama’s health care law, the D.C. Health Benefit Exchange doled out $6.4 million to 35 DC-based groups. Those groups include local churches as well as health care and community organizations.

One of the largest awards went to Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington D.C. A full list of groups is available here.

“We are excited to create these partnerships with trusted organizations that have deep roots in the communities that make up the District of Columbia,” Diane C. Lewis, chair of the exchange’s executive board, said in a statement.

This particular branch of Planned Parenthood has been in the news before.

In 2008, the group faced a $50 million from a former patient — a 13-year-old girl who suffered devastating bodily harm during an abortion procedure. According to Students for Life, the girl “sustained severe abdominal bleeding, severe vaginal injury, severe injury to the cervix, significant uterine perforation, and a small bowel tear. In addition, parts of the child were found inside young girl’s abdomen on September 8, 2006. Because of these injuries, the young girl will be infertile for the rest of her life.”

Nevertheless, the local Obamacare exchange views the Metro DC branch as a “trusted” partner in its efforts:

“DC Health Link Assisters are a critical part of our enrollment efforts. The District’s low uninsured rate is both great news and a challenge. There are no easy to reach uninsured people, so we have to be smart, strategic, and creative. These organizations are trusted voices and sources of information in their communities and they will be our boots on the ground. Together we will get the District to near universal coverage,” said Mila Kofman, J.D., executive director of the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority.